Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!

Author's Note: Here is the next chapter! Thank you to everyone who subscribed to the story! I hope you enjoy! :3

Guest K: The conspiracy theories arise! lol I kinda thought I would get that reaction from someone lol! I won't tell you, but I will say that it's not life-changing :)

Guest: You make me so excited! GZ, TPP, and the gap between are going to be QUITE the ride. I'm glad you're looking forward to it! Here's the next chapter! :3

"She's a Killer Queen

Gunpowder, gelatine,

Dynamite with a laser beam,

Guaranteed to blow your mind.

Anytime."

-Queen

November 10, 1974: 11:00

The air was thick and full of dread at the news of the nuclear weapon transport into Costa Rica. It wasn't long until Gálvez made it into the room to push pause on the mood. He had spoken up about knowing some primary members from the Frente Sandinista de Liberación (FSLN). The FSLN was a social democratic political party based out of Nicaragua who retaliated against US occupation back in the 30s. Seems Professor KGB had some more connections up his sleeve that the team didn't anticipate. Apparently, Gálvez has the lot of them on his side…using what tactics? The FSLN had secretly been funded by the KGB using all the drug money Lydia tried so hard to cease production of. Weapons, funds, money, and other resources were just donated to them out of thin air…just think if they were to figure out they were being backed by their own enemy.

In any case, Snake had agreed to meet with their commandante. Whatever the CIA is up to…it could change the world as they know it. It was time to put a stop to and spoil their plans. While Snake was in the field, he requested some productions; finally putting the R&D team to work with their first tasks. Nothing could bother them there on Mother Base, no government leash telling them what or what not to do. With no interruptions to work, Snake would receive better and faster aid on the battlefield…as Kaz put it…they "were going to turn this pile of junk into something big."

Within a few hours, Snake had been transported some pretty interesting items. Among his requests, he asked for the development of one item in particular…a cardboard box. Lydia chuckled at the idea. A cardboard box, huh? Snake…you never change.

March 18, 1963

Lydia had just turned seventeen at the strike of midnight! She walked into the CIA base with a big smile on her face, getting her morning started just right. "Ah! Matthews!" She focused further down the hall to see Anderson making his way toward her with a toothy smile. "I found you! Snake wants to see you, he's in the tactical training area."

"Oh?" Lydia rubbed her hands together. "I wonder what it would be for?" Surprise base party?! Well…no doubt Major would be in on it. She could see it now! A giant drunken party in the middle of the CIA base!

"Hell if I know." Anderson interjected her farfetched thought. "Anyway, he looked pretty…antsy. You should probably go see him now otherwise a vein is gonna explode in his brain or something." Lydia nodded in suspicion and proceeded to make her way to the tactical training area. She opened the door and looked around the giant training room…no one was there.

"Was he playin' with me?" Lydia asked herself, stepping into the area. The training, or what they nicknamed it, the 'Kill Room' was something she had grown used to these past few months. There were intricate maze designs, spaces for hand-to-hand combat training, free-weights, rubber bullet guns for target practice and other cool goodies that aided in the education and precision of the CIA. Lydia sighed to herself at the empty room. "Jack? Hello?" She called out. Still no answer. "Ugh." She grunted loudly.

There was a faint sound that made its way into her eardrums, and it was approaching from behind! Some type of shuffle, like someone was sneaking up on her! "Got ya!" Lydia automatically took a defensive position and pivoted around on her left foot for a one-eighty degree turn. Not too far away, she noticed the appearance of a cardboard box. Was that there before? No doubt someone had just dropped it off or she didn't notice it before hand. Lydia turned back around to make her way deeper into the room before there was a metal object placed to the middle of her back. A gun. Lydia slowly brought up her hands in an innocent manner before attempting to turn around and disarm the perpetrator! Not only did they grab onto on of her wrists upon turning around, they swept her off her feet and twisted her around to land on the ground. Boot meets back, cheek meets floor. Classic Jack move.

"Jack?!" Lydia glared at him from the side. He let her go and took a step back, waiting for her to stand up.

"You didn't even see me."

"Where the hell were you?" Lydia stood to her feet, massaging her left wrist with her right hand. He didn't turn away from her, only pointed to the cardboard box that she had spotted earlier. "You've GOT to be kidding me." Lydia sighed.

"Boxes are the ultimate form of stealth technology. Nobody suspects a thing." Lydia rolled her eyes. "You can do a lot more with a box than just hide under it, Lydia. It could save you from a life or death situation. Every soldier should have one. Including you."

"So, what am I going to do with that thing? There must be a lesson behind it or something."

"You're going to sneak up on me."

"YOU'LL KNOW IT'S ME!"

"I can pretend."

"Ha! You? Pretend?" Lydia crossed her arms.

"That doesn't mean I'll go easy on you. If I see you moving in the box or if I hear anything suspicious, I'll investigate."

"Sure." Lydia sighed and made her way to the box.

"I'll be in area three, you make your way over to me without getting spotted."

"Got it." She approached the cardboard box. A cardboard box, tho? This was ridiculous! She lifted up the side and crouched down so it was over her head. She blinked a few times once she was fully covered in crouching position. It was surprisingly spacious. She kinda just wanted to sit there for a while because it was so calm! "I feel…safe?"

November 10, 1974: 11:30

Snake had received some intel that the Sandinista group was being held captive at a boat house in Rio del Jade…not too far from his current location. It wasn't long until he radioed in. "Kaz, do you read me?"

"Yes Snake, go ahead?"

"What was this you just sent me? Is this a Fulton?"

"Ah, glad you got it! I'm glad their air-drop worked! Use the Fulton Recovery System to send us any troops you see fit. In the long run, it will really help us expand. Make sure not to bring back too many troops, we don't want to get over-crowded." Kaz added.

"Got it." Snake mumbled.

"Fulton? Nice thinking, Kaz."

"That's what I'm best at."

"Ehh, I can think of a few other things." Lydia shrugged in a flirting manner.

"Oh really? What other things is he good at?" Paz interjected, asking as innocently as possible.

"Uhhh?" Lydia found herself in a bind. In the corner of the room, she saw Gálvez start to chuckle. Kaz was just standing there with his arms crossed, awaiting for her answer.

"Yeah? What else am I best at, Lydia?"

"Handshakes!" She blurted out confidently, crossing her arms. "You are an excellent business man and have honed your hand-shaking skills for closing deals and…stuff." NAILED IT.

"Oh wow!" Paz stood up from her chair. "Miller! Shake my hand!"

"Ha! It would be my pleasure." Lydia laughed to herself as Paz shook Kaz's hand in some form of over-exaggeration.

It wasn't until a little 13:00 when Kaz's Codec chimed. "MSF here." Kaz responded. "Acknowledged." Kaz made eye contact with Lydia, motioning for her to approach him. Lydia stood up from her chair and walked to him while he spoke though his codec again. "The mountains? You think that's where they're taking the nukes?" There was a short pause before the conversation was ended. "Lydia, we're going to take a trip to the helipad. Snake is sending us someone for recovery."

"Got it." Lydia nodded. "The both of you can wait here, if you'd like. No doubt one of us will be back." Lydia spoke to Gálvez and Paz.

"Yes ma'am!" Paz smiled.

Once out of the room, Kaz and Lydia made their way outside. "You know who he's sending us?"

"He didn't say. Must be someone important." Kaz shrugged.

"I'll give Raven a call." Lydia dialed into Raven's frequency. "Raven, do you read me?"

"Loud and clear, ma'am." He responded, as if he was waiting for her to call his whole life.

"I need you to come to the command platform right away. You're about to have a delivery."

"On my way. I'll bring two others with me. Do I need a stretcher?"

"That may be necessary, bring one just in case."

"Yes ma'am. Over and out." Lydia turned off her codec and kept her eyes on the horizon.

"Hey Kaz, how long does the Fulton recovery take?"

"Well it depends. I would say about an hour or so. The chopper should be in soon."

And he was right. About forty-five minutes passed before the Iroquois chopper that was gifted to MSF by Gálvez flew in. Raven and a team of two jogged to the chopper with the rolling stretcher. Lydia watched Raven crawl into the chopper and drape a woman over his shoulders. She looked like she was in pretty bad shape. Raven jumped out once he had a strong grip and had help from the other two men to place her on the comfort of the stretcher.

"Snake this is Lydia. We got her safe and sound. Raven is taking her to the med bay to fix her up."

"10/4." Snake replied though her ear-piece.

"Wow." Lydia heard Kaz breathlessly sigh as she was wheeled by them. It sounded like he was in a trance! Lydia didn't get a good look at her up close, but she could tell from the distance that she was a very attractive woman.

"What? See something you like?" Lydia raised an eyebrow and nudged him in the arm.

"W-wait! It wasn't like that!" kaz caught himself.

"I better be the one to greet her when she comes to. She wouldn't want to wake up to look at a goon like you. You should check on Paz and Gálvez." Lydia held a straight face, the unknown feeling of jealousy showing blatantly through her words. Lydia followed Raven and the other two guys to the medical facility where they would work on the mysterious woman. I wonder who she is. Lydia thought as she sat outside of one of the operation rooms. It wasn't until 15:00 until Raven was done doing what he could to keep her stable. He waltzed out of the room, rubbing his palms together as if he had just washed his hands.

"She's stable. She was in pretty bad condition when she arrived. She fell a long way it looks like, her spinal cord was under a lot of stress. Any higher, and it might have broken."

"Wow, she lucked out." Lydia nodded her head.

"She's resting now. It might take a few days for her to recover. She's still knocked out from all the sedatives."

"Hell, I would be too." Lydia smiled. "Good job Raven, I'm glad we can count on you."

"Any time, Sub-C."

"I'll wait in the room until she wakes up. I know what it's like to wake in an unknown place, it's not the best experience in the world if you don't see a friendly face."

"Got it. I'll be in every now and then to check her vitals. Call me if you need anything."

"Yessir." Lydia patted him on the shoulder before she waltzed into the room. She was sleeping peacefully; laying in bed with her leg elevated into the air by a small hammock. Her clothes were folded neatly on a small table by the door. She was dressed in an operation robe and covered by a thick blanket for comfort. Kaz was right when he audibly complimented her beauty. She had an oval face with the perfect bone proportion for her face-type. Her brown, voluminous hair fell to her jaw line to accentuate her facial features. Even with her eyes closed, Lydia could only imagine how beautiful they would be when they opened.

At 17:00, there was a commotion going on out in the hall. It sounded like a little kid? Lydia stood up from the chair she had made herself comfortable in and made her way to the door. Upon opening it, someone had crashed right into her and ricocheted to the ground. "Ow!"

Lydia raised an eyebrow at the sight of a kid, about eleven or twelve. He was wearing a green hat to cover his brown hair. The beak of the hat was pushed to a different position on his head that only seemed to suit him…but Lydia couldn't see the tactical advantage of wearing a hat to the side like that. He was wearing dark green fatigues that resembled the folded ones that belonged to the woman. Same yellow ascot. What is it with all of these yellow ascots? He had the same creamy skin as the woman sleeping in the bed behind her…their bone and facial features almost matching. Could this be a relative? Did Snake Fulton him over?

The kid rubbed his head and looked up at Lydia with his dark green eyes. "Hey, who are you? Why are you in my sister's room?"

"Lydia." Lydia simply responded. "I'm waiting here until your…sister…wakes up." The resemblance was uncanny. Of course they were related!

"Is she ok?! Please tell me she's ok!"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down kid." Lydia bent her knees enough to look him in the eyes. "She's alright. Why don't you come on in? She'll be looking forward to seeing you when she wakes up. Why don't you tell me your name?"

"Chico." He sounded distracted, as if his mind was somewhere else.

"Alright Chico." Lydia stood up straight and unblocked the doorway. He nearly launched himself in the room and ran to the woman's side.

"I see he found out where they were keeping her." The familiar voice of Kaz snuck up on Lydia from down the hall. Lydia sighed and turned her attention to him. "Smart kid."

"He seems like a hard-head." She said loud enough for him to hear.

"Hey I heard that!" Chico shouted, partially offended. Lydia chuckled to herself and stepped the rest of the way out of the room. The door shut behind her as Kaz closed the distance.

"Any update?"

"Other than me missing you? Yeah." Kaz spoke. "Why did you dip out like that?"

"I told you already." Lydia sighed.

"You weren't jealous…were you?" Kaz lowered his head, looking at her through the top rim of his sunglasses.

"Jealous? No." Lydia lied. "Just as you said with Paz, I thought it might be helpful for her to see the face of another lady…but now with her brother here, I think everything should be just fine."

"Ah, I see." Kaz placed his hands on his hips. "I knew there wasn't a way you could be jealous."

"Correct." Lydia confirmed.

"I have to say, I like what we've been doing this past year. So there's nothing for you to worry about." Kaz spoke up.

"I don't think nows a good time to talk about this." Lydia sighed.

"Alright, alright." Kaz backed off. They never discussed a title to their 'relationship'. Hell, she didn't know if it was a relationship in the first place. If anything, she would classify it as a mutually beneficial friendship. Lydia and Kaz had feelings for each other, that was clear. But what kept him from sleeping with another woman or going to someone else? Lydia hadn't told Kaz her true feelings. She's realized she's loved the man for a while now…it was the fear of stating it. Her experience with Adam, although that was non sexual, always crept in her mind. If she said that she loved him…would that queue him to leave? She never really asked herself those questions until the mysterious woman made her appearance.

"What's wrong?" Kaz brushed a loose hair that had fallen out of her ponytail behind her hear. "Something on your mind?"

"Nah." She lied again. "Just wondering what that woman's name is."

"Amanda. Chico told me. Apparently, she's the leader of the Sandinistas…the ones that Gálvez was talking about."

"Oh, that makes sense."

"Snake told me there was a giant unmanned machine that captured Chico and did all of that damage to her."

"What? Really?" Lydia was shocked. "An unmanned machine? Where did it come from?"

"We're not so sure. The CIA has a lot of tricks up their sleeves to say the least." Kaz ran his fingers through his hair. "But anyway, Snake is on his way to Irazú. That's where they had taken he cargo. I advised him to rest on the way there. He'll probably make it close to the compound around 04:00 tomorrow morning."

"Right."

"And we got a few more guys in from Fulton recovery. Some of them were Sandinistas and the others were randoms. Some of them were a little uncooperative. We had to throw them in a brig below the command deck. I have Mosquito working on persuading them."

"Mosquito? Really?"

"Believe it or not, he's really good with persuasion. Snake made a good choice keeping him with the combat unit."

"Heh, that's good to hear. He has a short temper." Lydia recollected her trip back to Peru. "He probably uses that to his advantage." Lydia almost wanted to laugh at how he frequently was was raged by the simplest things.

"Did she wake up?" Kaz changed the subject.

"She? Oh her? No, she's still passed out. Raven says she had barely survived a fall. Her spine was nearly broken…she lucked out." Lydia reported.

"Let's hope she makes a speedy recovery. We should check in to see if Chico had the balls to wake her."

"Good idea." Lydia nodded. The both of them emerged into the room, Chico beaming with happiness. In the bed, it looked as if the woman was stirring from her slumber. "Just in time." Lydia spoke. She pulled out her codec and dialed into Raven. "Raven, she's awake."

"Understood. On my way." Raven responded.

"Uhhh, where am I? Chico? Is that you?!" Her bright green eyes widened right away at the sight of her younger brother.

"Yes it's me!" Chico grappled onto his sister's hand. "Snake got me out!"

"Snake? Heh, he actually did it." She weakly smiled.

"Glad you're awake. You've been out for a while." Lydia spoke up. "I'm Lydia Matthews. MSF's Sub-Commander. You're on our Mother Base."

"And I'm Kazuhira Miller, also Commander here on Mother Base."

"I made it to the heaven he was talking about." The woman smiled, patting Chico on the head. "I'm Amanda…this is my brother Chico. Did Snake find my other compas?"

"He found some of them…they're here on Mother Base, also in recovery." Kaz responded.

"Ahh, we made it." Amanda sighed, resting her back and head against her pillow. "Soon I'll be ready to help."

"Not any time soon." Raven walked in. "You better think twice about that and your broken leg."

"Maybe she's like me and heals fast?" Kaz shrugged.

"Don't worry, I'll be up and of use to you in no time." Amanda smiled, holding a thumbs-up with her free hand.

"You're pretty determined." Lydia crossed her arms. "No wonder Snake brought you over. I can see why he likes you."

"As long as your determined to get better and not go anywhere else, that is." Raven butted in, standing on the side of the bed that Chico wasn't on. "Doctor's orders."

"You're right, it's not use. I can't move now but you can't keep me locked in here forever."

"Mhmm." Raven hummed, writing some stuff down onto a piece of paper attached to a clip-board. "Say that after your meds wear off."